Health care costs associated with wildfires can be astronomical. These include hospital and ER visits, as well as long-term care and medication.

Repair and rebuilding of property can cost millions of dollars. Property losses may include residences, hospitals, schools, businesses, factories, infrastructure sites such as water-treatment facilities, and community centers such as churches.

Communities may suffer a loss of business income due to wildfires. Businesses impacted may include industry, retail, agriculture, and tourism.

Rebuilding efforts may restructure entire neighborhoods and communities. The “Great Rebuilding” following the Great Chicago Fire, for instance, excluded many poor residents displaced by the fire. According to our article, “After the fire, laws were passed requiring new buildings be constructed with fireproof materials … Many poorer Chicagoans couldn’t afford the fireproof materials or skilled masons to rebuild. In addition, many could not afford fire insurance … Without the means to rebuild or insure their property, thousands of people and small businesses were crowded out of Chicago.”

Small and slow-moving animals who are unable to outrun the fire are particularly at-risk.

Some species rely on wildfire to survive. Lodgepole pines, for instance, only release seeds in the searing heat of a wildfire (which can reach temperatures of up to 800° C (1,472° F)). Primary consumers, such as woodpeckers, thrive in these post-blaze habitats.